Pitch changing apparatus, electronic device handling apparatus, and electronic device testing apparatus

ABSTRACT

There is provided a pitch changing apparatus which can change a pitch of DUTs when the DUTs are transferred between trays by a shuttle revolving system. The pitch changing apparatus, which changes the pitch of DUTs, includes a plurality of shuttles which hold DUTs, a first guide rail which guides the plurality of shuttles, a second feeder which feeds the shuttles along the first guide rail at a first pitch, a third feeder which includes a plurality of pins receiving the shuttles from the second feeder and moves the pins along the first guide rail at a second pitch, and a controller which controls a feed rate of the second feeder and a receiving rate of the third feeder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pitch changing apparatus whichchanges the pitch of electronic devices when the DUTs are transferredbetween trays in an electronic device testing apparatus which testsvarious electronic devices such as semiconductor integrated circuitelements (hereinafter, also referred to as DUTs (Devices Under Test)),an electronic device handling apparatus and the electronic devicetesting apparatus which include the pitch changing apparatus.

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2011-289399 filed on Dec. 28, 2011. The contents described and/orillustrated in the documents relevant to the Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2011-289399 will be incorporated herein by reference as a part ofthe description and/or drawings of the present application.

2. Description of the Related Art

An apparatus, which transfers DUTs between a customer tray and a testtray before and after a test, is known as an electronic device testingapparatus which tests electronic devices (for example, see InternationalPublication No. WO 2008/041334).

Since DUTs are transferred between trays by a so-called pick-and-placeunit in the electronic device testing apparatus, the transfer capacityof the electronic device testing apparatus is limited. Further, a methodof improving a capacity of transferring DUTs between trays by making aplurality of shuttles, which have held DUTs, continuously revolve on anendless track is conceivable.

Since the pitch of DUTs needs to be changed so as to correspond to thepitch of destination trays when the DUTs are transferred between trays,the pitch of DUTs also needs to be changed in the case of theabove-mentioned shuttle revolving system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a pitch changing apparatuswhich can change the pitch of DUTs when the DUTs are transferred betweentrays by a shuttle revolving system.

[1] A pitch changing apparatus according to the invention is a pitchchanging apparatus which changes a pitch of electronic devices to betested, the pitch changing apparatus comprising: a plurality of holdingunits which hold the electronic devices; a track which guides theplurality of holding units; a first moving unit which feeds the holdingunits along the track at a first pitch; a second moving unit whichincludes a plurality of receiving portions and moves the receivingportions along the track at a second pitch, the receiving portions whichreceive the holding units from the first moving unit; and a control unitwhich controls a feed rate of the first moving unit and a receiving rateof the second moving unit.

[2] In the above invention, an interval between the plurality of holdingunits may be variable on the track.

[3] In the above invention, the control unit may make the feed rate ofthe first moving unit and the receiving rate of the second moving unitbe different from each other so as to change a pitch of the holdingunits.

[4] In the above invention, the control unit may intermittently stopsthe first moving unit while moves receiving portions by the secondmoving unit so that the holding units do not convey to at least oneamong the receiving portions.

[5] In the above invention, the first moving unit may move the rearmostholding unit while making the plurality of holding units come intocontact with each other so as to push the foremost holding unit towardthe second moving unit.

[6] In the above invention, the second moving unit may include: anendless belt on which the plurality of receiving portions are mounted atthe second pitch and which is provided in parallel with the track; atleast two pulleys on which the belt is stretched in the shape of a loop;and a motor which rotationally drives one of the pulleys.

[7] In the above invention, the pitch changing apparatus may comprises afloating unit which floats the holding units from the track with acompressed fluid interposed between the holding units and the track.

[8] In the above invention, the first pitch may be substantially thesame as a pitch of holding portions of a customer tray, and the secondpitch may be substantially the same as a pitch of inserts of a testtray.

[9] In the above invention, the track may includes: a first horizontalportion along which the holding units are moved in a horizontaldirection with an attitude where terminals are directed downward; asecond horizontal portion along which the holding units are moved in thehorizontal direction with an attitude where the terminals are directedupward; a first inverted portion that is turned back in a verticaldirection and connects one end of the first horizontal portion with oneend of the second horizontal portion; and a second inverted portion thatis turned back in the vertical direction and connects the other end ofthe first horizontal portion with the other end of the second horizontalportion, and the first moving unit may move the holding units from theone end of the second horizontal portion toward the other end of thesecond horizontal portion, the second moving unit may move the holdingunits along the second inverted portion from the other end of the secondhorizontal portion toward the other end of the first horizontal portion,and the pitch changing apparatus may further include a third moving unitwhich moves the holding units from the other end of the first horizontalportion toward the one end of the first horizontal portion.

[10] In the above invention, the holding unit may include a holdingmechanism which holds the electronic devices even though the holdingunit is inverted.

[11] In the above invention, the pitch changing apparatus may furtherinclude: a first transfer unit which transfers the electronic devicesfrom a first tray to the holding units with an attitude where theterminals of the electronic devices are directed downward or upward; anda second transfer unit which transfers the electronic devices from theholding units to a second tray with an attitude where the terminals aredirected upward or downward.

[12] An electronic device handling apparatus according to the inventionis an electronic device handling apparatus which loads electronicdevices to be tested onto a test tray, conveys the electronic devices,and presses the electronic devices against a contact portion of a testhead in order to test the electronic devices, the electronic devicehandling apparatus comprising: at least one of the above first pitchchanging apparatus and the above second pitch changing apparatus,wherein the first pitch changing apparatus transfers untested electronicdevices from a customer tray to the test tray, and the second pitchchanging device transfers tested electronic devices from the test trayto the customer tray.

[13] An electronic device testing apparatus according to the inventionis an electronic device testing apparatus which tests electronicdevices, the electronic device testing apparatus comprising: a testhead; the above electronic device handling apparatus which presses theelectronic devices against a contact portion of the test head; and atester which is electrically connected to the test head.

According to the invention, the pitch of the electronic devices ischanged from the first pitch into the second pitch when the secondmoving unit receives the holding units from the first moving unit.Accordingly, there is provided the pitch changing apparatus which canchange the pitch of the electronic devices when the electronic devicesare transferred between the trays by the shuttle revolving system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electronic device testing apparatus in anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electronic device testing apparatusin the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a device conveying unit of a loader section inthe embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating shuttles and a guide rail of thedevice conveying unit illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating a modification of the deviceconveying unit in the embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 9A to 9E are views illustrating a transfer operation fortransferring a DUT from a customer tray to the shuttle in the embodimentof the invention, FIG. 9A is a view illustrating the outline of thetransfer operation, and FIGS. 9B to 9E are views illustrating therespective steps of the transfer operation;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a pitch changing mechanism of the deviceconveying unit illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating a relation between the feed rate of asecond feeder and the receiving rate of a third feeder;

FIGS. 12A to 12E are views illustrating a transfer operation fortransferring a DUT from the shuttle to a test tray in the embodiment ofthe invention, FIG. 12A is a view illustrating the outline of thetransfer operation, and FIGS. 12B to 12E are views illustrating therespective steps of the transfer operation;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a testsection of an electronic device handling apparatus and an upper portionof a test head in the embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 14A to 14F are views illustrating a transfer operation fortransferring a DUT from the test tray to the shuttle in the embodimentof the invention, FIG. 14A is a view illustrating the outline of thetransfer operation, and FIGS. 14B to 14F are views illustrating therespective steps of the transfer operation; and

FIGS. 15A to 15E are views illustrating a transfer operation from theshuttle to the customer tray in the embodiment of the invention, FIG.15A is a view illustrating the outline of the transfer operation, andFIGS. 15B to 15E are views illustrating the respective steps of thetransfer operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are plan and perspective views in an electronic devicetesting apparatus of this embodiment, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along line of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view takenalong line IV-IV of FIG. 1.

First, the structure of the electronic device testing apparatus 1 inthis embodiment will be described.

The electronic device testing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is anapparatus that tests (examines) whether DUTs 100 appropriately operatesin a state where high-temperature or low-temperature thermal stress isapplied to the DUTs 100 (or a normal temperature state) and classifiesthe DUTs 100 on the basis of the test results. The electronic devicetesting apparatus 1 includes a test head 2, a tester 3, and a handler10. The electronic device testing apparatus 1 loads DUTs 100 onto testtrays 120, conveys the DUTs 100, and tests the DUTs 100. However, in theelectronic device testing apparatus, the transfer of the DUTs 100 isperformed between customer trays 110 and the test trays 120 before andafter testing of the electronic devices. Meanwhile, the handler 10 ofthis embodiment is equivalent to an example of an electronic devicehandling apparatus of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the handler 10 of this embodimentincludes a storage section 20, a loader section 30, a heat applyingsection 60, a test section 70, a heat removing section 80, and anunloader section 90.

A plurality of customer trays 110 that receive untested or tested DUTs100 are stored in the storage section 20. The customer tray 110 is atray that is used to carry DUTs 100 into the handler 10 from otherprocesses or to carry DUTs 100 to other processes from the handler 10.The customer tray 110 includes a plurality of receiving portions 111(holding portions) in which DUTs 100 can be received (see FIGS. 9A and15A). The receiving portions 111 are disposed in a matrix at a firstpitch P₁.

The loader section 30 transfers the untested DUTs 100 to the test trays120 from the customer trays 110 that are provided from the storagesection 20, and conveys the test trays 120 to the heat applying section60. The test tray 120 is a tray that circulates in the handler 10, andincludes a plurality of (for example, 256) inserts 122 in which recesses123 holding the DUTs 100 are formed (see FIGS. 12A, 13, and 14A). Theinserts 122 are disposed in a matrix at a second pitch P₂ that is largerthan the first pitch P₁ (P₁<P₂).

The heat applying section 60 receives the test trays 120 from the loadersection 30, and conveys the test trays 120 to the test section 70 afterapplying high-temperature (for example, room temperature to +160° C.) orlow-temperature (for example, −60° C. to room temperature) thermalstress with respect to the untested DUTs 100 that are loaded onto thetest trays 120.

In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, the test head 2 ismounted on the handler 10 in an inverted state, and sockets 201 of thetest head 2 face the inside of the test section 70 of the handler 10through an opening 11 that is formed at the upper portion of the handler10.

The test section 70 makes terminals 101 of the DUTs 100 come intoelectrical contact with contact pins 202 of the sockets 201 by pressingthe DUTs 100, which are loaded onto the test tray 120 fed from the heatapplying section 60, against the sockets 201 of the test head 2.

Meanwhile, although not particularly illustrated, a plurality of (forexample, 512) sockets 201 are disposed in a matrix on the test head 2.Accordingly, the array of the inserts 122 of the test tray 120corresponds to the array of the sockets 201.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the test head 2 is connected to the tester 3through a cable 301. When the DUTs 100 are pressed against the sockets201 by the handler 10, the tester 3 tests the DUTs 100 by inputting andoutputting test signals to and from the DUTs 100 through the sockets201, for example. Meanwhile, when the kind of the DUTs 100 is changed,the sockets 201 disposed on the test head 2 are appropriately changedinto sockets corresponding to the changed DUTs 100.

The heat removing section 80 receives the test trays 120 from the testsection 70 and conveys the test trays 120 to the unloader section 90after removing thermal stress from the DUTs 100 that have beencompletely tested.

The unloader section 90 classifies the DUTs 100 while transferring thetested DUTs 100 from the test trays 120 to the customer trays 110 whichcorrespond to the test results. The customer trays 110 in which thetested DUTs 100 are received are stored in the storage section 20.Further, the test trays 120, from which all of the DUTs 100 have beentransferred and which become empty, are conveyed to the loader section30 by a tray conveying unit 58 (see FIG. 1).

The respective sections of the handler 10 will be described in detailbelow.

<Storage Section 20>

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage section 20 includes anuntested tray stocker 21, tested tray stockers 22, and empty traystockers 23.

The untested tray stocker 21 stores a plurality of customer trays 110that have received untested DUTs 100. Meanwhile, the tested tray stocker22 stores a plurality of customer trays 110 that have received the DUTs100 classified according to the test results. Further, the empty traystocker 23 stores empty customer trays 110 that do not receive DUTs 100.Since six tested tray stockers 22 are provided in this embodiment, it ispossible to classify DUTs 100 according to six kinds of test results tothe maximum.

Although not particularly illustrated, each of these stockers 21 to 23includes a frame-like tray support frame and an elevator that can bemoved up and down in the tray support frame. A plurality of customertrays 110 are stacked in the tray support frame, and the stacked body ofthe customer trays is moved up and down by the elevator.

Meanwhile, since all of the stockers 21 to 23 have the same structure,the numbers of the untested tray stocker 21, the tested tray stockers22, and the empty tray stockers 23 are not limited to theabove-mentioned numbers and may be arbitrarily set. Furthermore, thetotal number of the tray stockers 21 to 23 is also not particularlylimited to the above-mentioned number.

Moreover, the storage section 20 includes a tray transfer arm 24 thatcan transfer the customer tray 110.

For example, when all of the DUTs 100 are supplied to the loader section30 from the uppermost customer tray 110 of the untested tray stocker 21and the customer tray 110 becomes empty, the tray transfer arm 24transfers the customer tray 110 from the untested tray stocker 21 to theempty tray stocker 23.

Further, for example, when the uppermost customer tray 110 of the testedtray stocker 22 is filled with the tested DUTs 100, the tray transferarm 24 transfers a new empty customer tray 110 from the empty traystocker 23 to the tested tray stocker 22.

Meanwhile, the structure of the storage section 20 is not particularlylimited to the above-mentioned structure. For example, the tray transferarm 24 may take the uppermost customer tray 110 out of the untested traystocker 21 or the tested tray stocker 22 and may transfer the uppermostcustomer tray 110 onto a set plate and the set plate may be moved uptoward a window portion formed at the base of the handler 10 so that thecustomer tray 110 is provided to the loader section 30 or the unloadersection 90.

<Loader Section 30>

FIG. 5 is a side view of a device conveying unit of the loader sectionin this embodiment, FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating shuttles and aguide rail of the device conveying unit, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectionalview taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a side viewillustrating a modification of the device conveying unit in thisembodiment, FIGS. 9A to 9E are views illustrating a transfer operationfor transferring a DUT from the customer tray to the shuttle in thisembodiment, FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a pitch changing mechanism ofthe device conveying unit illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 11 is a graphillustrating a relation between the feed rate of a second feeder and thereceiving rate of a third feeder, and FIGS. 12A to 12E are viewsillustrating a transfer operation for transferring a DUT from theshuttle to a test tray in this embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the loader section 30 includes a devicetransfer unit 40 and a device conveying unit 50A. In this embodiment,the DUT 100 is transferred to the test tray 120 by the device conveyingunit 50A after the DUT 100 is transferred from the customer tray 110 tothe device conveying unit 50A by the device transfer unit 40. The deviceconveying unit 50A and a first movable head 43 of the device transferunit 40 of this embodiment are equivalent to an example of a first pitchchanging apparatus of the present invention.

The device transfer unit 40 is a unit that transfers the DUT 100 fromthe customer tray 110 to the device conveying unit 50A. As illustratedin FIG. 1, the device transfer unit 40 includes a pair of X-directionrails 41 that are provided along the X direction, a first Y-directionrail 42 that slide along the X direction on the X-direction rails 41,and a first movable head 43 that is supported by the first Y-directionrail 42.

The first movable head 43 includes a plurality of (for example, 36)suction heads 431 (see FIGS. 5 and 9A) that can be moved up and down,respectively. Accordingly, the first movable head 43 can simultaneouslyhold a plurality of DUTs 100 by suction. Further, the suction heads 431of the first movable head 43 are disposed in line at the same firstpitch P₁ as the pitch of the receiving portions 111 of theabove-mentioned customer tray 110. The first movable head 43 of thedevice transfer unit 40 of this embodiment is equivalent to an exampleof a first transfer unit of the present invention.

Furthermore, the first movable head 43 includes a latch opener 432 thatopens latches 513 of shuttles 51 to be described below. The latch opener432 includes protrusions 433 that protrude downward, and can be moved upand down independently of the suction heads 431.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the device transfer unit 40 includestwo movable heads 45 and 47 in addition to the above-mentioned firstmovable head 43. However, these heads 45 and 47 are used to transferDUTs 100 from device conveying units 50B to the customer trays 110 inthe unloader section 90 to be described below.

Meanwhile, the second movable head 45 is supported by a secondY-direction rail 44 that can slide on the X-direction rails 41. Like thefirst movable head 43, the second movable head 45 includes a pluralityof (for example, 36) suction heads 451 (see FIG. 15A) that can move upand down, and a latch opener 452 that can move up and down independentlyof the suction heads 451.

Meanwhile, the third movable head 47 is also supported by a thirdY-direction rail 46 that can slide on the X-direction rails 41. However,the third movable head 47 can move along the Y direction on the thirdY-direction rail 46 in order to deal with the test results of which thefrequency of occurrence is low. Further, although not particularlyillustrated, the third movable head 47 includes suction heads and alatch opener that are the same as those of the first and second movableheads 43 and 45. However, the number of the suction heads is smallerthan the number of the suction heads of each of the first and secondmovable heads 43 and 45.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the device conveying unit 50A includes:a plurality of shuttles 51 that hold DUTs 100; a guide rail 52 thatguides the shuttles 51; first to third feeders 53 to 55 that move theshuttles 51 on the guide rail 52; a latch opener 56A that transfers DUTs100 from the shuttles 51 to the test tray 120; and a controller 57 thatcontrols the first to third feeders 53 to 55.

The shuttle (a conveying carrier) 51 of this embodiment is equivalent toan example of a holding unit of the present invention, a first guiderail 521 of this embodiment is equivalent to an example of a track ofthe present invention, the second feeder 54 of this embodiment isequivalent to an example of a first moving unit of the invention, andthe third feeder 55 of this embodiment is equivalent to an example of asecond moving unit of the invention, and the controller 57 of thisembodiment is equivalent to an example of a control unit of the presentinvention.

Further, the first feeder 53 of this embodiment is equivalent to anexample of a third moving unit of the invention, and the latch opener56A of this embodiment is equivalent to an example of a second transferunit of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the shuttle 51 includes: a device holdingportion 511 that holds a DUT 100; and a base portion 515 on which thedevice holding portion 511 is mounted. The device holding portion 511includes: a device receiving hole 512 that receives the DUT 100; and apair of latches 513 that restrain the DUT 100 in the device receivinghole 512. Further, the latches 513 of this embodiment is equivalent toan example of a holding mechanism of the present invention.

Each of the latches 513 includes: a first holding portion 513 a that ispositioned on the bottom of the device receiving hole 512; a secondholding portion 513 b that is positioned above the device receiving hole512; a contact portion 513 c that extends outward from the secondholding portion 513 b; and a rotating shaft 513 d that connects thefirst holding portion 513 a with the second holding portion 513 b. Thefirst holding portion 513 a, the second holding portion 513 b, and thecontact portion 513 c are integrally formed. The latch 513 is rotatablysupported by the rotating shaft 513 d, and is biased in the directiontoward the inside of the device receiving hole 512 (in the direction ofan arrow in FIG. 7) by an biasing member (not illustrated) such as atorsion spring.

When a DUT 100 is received in the device receiving hole 512, asillustrated in FIG. 7, the side of the DUT 100 on which terminals 101are formed is held by the first holding portions 513 a and the secondholding portions 513 b come into contact with the upper portion of theDUT 100. For this reason, when a DUT 100 is received in the deviceholding portion 511, the DUT 100 is fixed in the device receiving hole512 by the latches 513. Accordingly, even though the shuttle 51 isinverted upside down, the DUT 100 does not fall from the shuttle.

Meanwhile, a pair of rail receiving grooves 516, which extend in thefront-rear direction of the shuttle 51, are formed at both side portionsof the base portion 515. The first guide rail 521 of the guide rail 52is inserted into the rail receiving grooves 516 with some clearances, sothat the shuttle 51 is guided along the first guide rail 521.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the guide rail 52 includes the first guiderail 521 and second guide rails 525.

The first guide rail 521 includes: first and second horizontal portions521 a and 521 b extending in the horizontal direction; and first andsecond inverted portions 521 c and 521 d connecting these horizontalportions 521 a and 521 b, and has an annular shape (an endless shape).The shuttle 51 can move (revolve) over the entire circumference of thefirst guide rail 521.

In this embodiment, the first and second inverted portions 521 c and 521d are turned back in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the shuttle 51moves on the first horizontal portion 521 a with an attitude where theterminals 101 of the DUT 100 are directed downward, but moves on thesecond horizontal portion 521 b with an attitude where the terminals 101of the DUT 100 are directed upward.

Further, the shuttle 51 may be adapted to be moved over the entirecircumference of the first guide rail 521 with an attitude where theterminals 101 of the DUT 100 are directed downward or upward while thefirst guide rail 521 is rotated with respect to the longitudinaldirection at an angle of 90° from the state illustrated in FIG. 6.Furthermore, as long as the shape of the entire first guide rail 521 isan endless shape, the shape of the entire first guide rail 521 is notparticularly limited to the shape that includes the above-mentioned twoinverted portions.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, flow passages 522 and outlets 523 are formedin the horizontal portions 521 a and 521 b of the first guide rail 521.The flow passages 522 extend in the longitudinal direction of the firstand second horizontal portions 521 a and 521 b and a compressor 524,which supplies a compressed fluid such as pressured air, is connected tothe flow passages 522. The outlets 523 are opened to the upper and sidesurfaces of the first guide rail 521 from the flow passages 522.

When pressured air is discharged from the outlets 523, pressured air isinterposed between the rail receiving grooves 516 of the shuttle 51 andthe first guide rail 521. Accordingly, the shuttle 51 floats from thefirst guide rail 521. For this reason, since friction, which isgenerated when the shuttle 51 moves on the first guide rail 521, issignificantly reduced, it is possible to reduce cost and to achievemaintenance free. The compressor 524 and the flow passages 522 andoutlets 523 of the first guide rail 521 of this embodiment areequivalent to an example of a floating unit of the invention.

Meanwhile, the flow passages 522 or the outlets 523 are not formed inthe inverted portions 521 c and 521 d of the first guide rail 521.However, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the second guide rails 525 aredisposed outside the inverted portions 521 c and 521 d. Although notparticularly illustrated, flow passages to which pressured air issupplied and outlets that are opened toward the inverted portions 521 cand 521 d of the first guide rail 521 from the flow passages are formedeven in the second guide rails 525.

Pressured air is blown toward the upper portion of the shuttle 51 fromthe outlets of the second guide rails 525, so that the rattling of theshuttle 51 is suppressed when the shuttle 51 passes through the invertedportions 521 c and 521 d. Meanwhile, the second guide rails 525 are notillustrated in FIG. 5.

Instead of the above-mentioned static pressure system, bearings 517 aremounted on shuttles 51′ as illustrated in FIG. 8 and the bearings 517may be made to roll on a guide rail 52′ so that the shuttles 51′ move onthe guide rail 52′. Alternatively, although not particularlyillustrated, shuttles may be moved by a belt conveyor instead of theguide rail.

Returning to FIG. 5, a plurality of (for example, 100 or more) shuttles51 are mounted on the first guide rail 521 and an interval between theseshuttles 51 is arbitrarily variable. Further, when the shuttles 51 comeinto contact with each other on the first guide rail 521, the pitch ofthe shuttles 51 is set to be substantially the same as theabove-mentioned pitch P₁ of the receiving portions 111 of the customertray 110. Further, when the shuttles 51 come into contact with eachother on the first guide rail 521, the pitch of the shuttles 51 may bean integer multiple of the pitch P₁ of the receiving portions 111 of thecustomer tray 110.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first feeder 53 is provided along thefirst horizontal portion 521 a of the first guide rail 521. The firstfeeder 53 includes pulleys 531 and 532, a belt 533, a motor 534, a guiderail 535, a slide block 536, an air cylinder 537, and a contact block538.

The belt 533 is stretched on the pair of pulleys 531 and 532 in theshape of a loop, and the belt 533 is provided parallel to the firsthorizontal portion 521 a of the first guide rail 521. Further, the motor534 can rotationally drive one pulley 531.

Like the belt 533, the guide rail 535 is also provided parallel to thefirst horizontal portion 521 a. The slide block 536 can slide on theguide rail 535 and is fixed to the belt 533.

The air cylinder 537, which can be extended and contracted in theup-down direction, is mounted on the end of the slide block 536, and thecontact block 538, which comes into contact with the shuttle 51, ismounted on the end of the air cylinder 537.

The first feeder 53 rotates the pulley 531 clockwise in FIG. 5 by themotor 534 while the air cylinder 537 is extended. Accordingly, the firstfeeder 53 moves the slide block 536 to the left side in FIG. 5. As aresult, the first feeder 53 moves the shuttle 51 on the first horizontalportion 521 a. At this time, the first feeder 53 pushes the rearmostshuttle 51 by the contact block 538, so that the first feeder 53 movesthe plurality of shuttles 51 in a lump while the shuttles 51 come intocontact with each other. Meanwhile, when returning the contact block 538to the origin, the first feeder 53 rotates the pulley 531counterclockwise in FIG. 5 while the air cylinder 537 is contracted.Accordingly, the first feeder 53 moves the contact block 538 to theright side in FIG. 5. Further, a groove or a hole may be formed in eachof the shuttles 51 and the contact block 538 may be inserted into thegroove or the hole.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a stopper 539 is provided nearthe end portion of the first horizontal portion 521 a of the first guiderail 521. The stopper 539 includes: an air cylinder 539 a that can beextended and contracted in the up-down direction; and a stopper block539 b that is mounted on the end of the air cylinder 539 a. Accordingly,it is possible to stop the shuttle 51 at the end portion of the firsthorizontal portion 521 a of the first guide rail 521 by extending theair cylinder 539 a.

The customer trays 110 out of which the DUTs 100 are taken by the firstmovable head 43 of the device transfer unit 40 are positioned on theside of the end portion of the first horizontal portion 521 a. In thisembodiment, when the first feeder 53 loads the shuttles 51 onto thefirst guide rail 521 to the stopper 539 as illustrated in FIG. 5, thenumber of the shuttles 51 positioned between the stopper 539 and thecontact block 538 is set to be equal to the number of the receivingportions 111 of the customer tray 110 in the Y direction.

Further, when the shuttles 51 are charged between the stopper 539 andthe contact block 538, the first movable head 43 of the device transferunit 40 simultaneously transfers a plurality of DUTs 100 from thecustomer tray 110 to the shuttles 51 as illustrated in FIG. 9A.

Specifically, first, the first movable head 43 approaches the customertray 110 and holds DUTs 100 (FIG. 9B). Next, after the first movablehead 43 is moved above the shuttles 51, the first movable head 43 opensthe latches 513 by moving only the latch opener 432 down to press thecontact portions 513 c of the latches 513 of the shuttles 51 by theprotrusions 433 (FIG. 9C). Next, after the first movable head 43 movesthe suction heads 431 down to place the DUTs 100 on the first holdingportions 513 a of the latches 513 (FIG. 9D), the first movable head 43moves the suction heads 431 and the latch opener 432 up (FIG. 9E).

When DUTs 100 are transferred to all the shuttles 51 charged between thestopper 539 and the contact block 538 in the above-mentioned manner, thefirst feeder 53 moves all the shuttles 51 in a lump by pushing therearmost shuttle 51 through the next empty shuttle 51. The shuttles 51,which are pushed to the first inverted portion 521 c of the first guiderail 521 by the first feeder 53, are moved from the first invertedportion 521 c to the second horizontal portion 521 b by their ownweight.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 10, the second feeder 54 is provided alongthe second horizontal portion 521 b of the first guide rail 521. Likethe above-mentioned first feeder 53, the second feeder 54 also includesa pair of pulleys 541 and 542, a belt 543, a motor 544, a guide rail545, a slide block 546, an air cylinder 547, and a contact block 548.

Like the above-mentioned first feeder 53, the second feeder 54 is alsoadapted so as to be capable of moving the shuttle 51 to the right sidein FIGS. 5 and 10 on the second horizontal portion 521 b by moving theslide block 546 while the air cylinder 547 is extended. Accordingly, thesecond feeder 54 pushes the rearmost shuttle 51 by the contact block548, so that the second feeder 54 moves a predetermined number (forexample, the same number as the number of the inserts 122 of the testtray 120 in the Y direction) of shuttles 51 toward the third feeder 55in a lump while the shuttles 51 come into contact with each other.Further, a stopper 549, which stops the shuttle 51 on the secondhorizontal portion 521 b, is also provided near the end of the secondfeeder 54.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 10, the third feeder 55 is disposed so asto overlap the horizontal portions 521 a and 521 b of the first guiderail 521 and the second inverted portion 521 d, and includes: a belt 551that is provided along the first guide rail 521; a pair of pulleys 552and 553 on which the belt 551 is stretched in the shape of a loop; and amotor 554 that rotationally drives one pulley 552.

A plurality of pins 555, which can be engaged with engagement grooves514 (see FIG. 10) formed at the bottoms of the shuttles 51, are providedon the outer peripheral surface of the belt 551. The pins 555 aredisposed on the belt 551 at the same second pitch P₂ as theabove-mentioned pitch of the inserts 122 of the test tray 120. The pin555 of this embodiment is equivalent to an example of a receivingportion of the present invention.

When the shuttles 51 are supplied to the third feeder 55 by the secondfeeder 54, the pins 555 of the belt 551 are engaged with the engaginggrooves 514 of the shuttles 51 and the third feeder 55 moves theshuttles 51 along the first guide rail 521 in the order of the secondhorizontal portion 521 b, the second inverted portion 521 d, and thefirst horizontal portion 521 a.

Meanwhile, the pulley 552 illustrated on the left side in FIG. 10 has aradius smaller than the radius of the pulley 553 illustrated on theright side in FIG. 10. Accordingly, the belt 551 overlaps the secondhorizontal portion 521 b and the second inverted portion 521 d of thefirst guide rail 521, but is adapted so as to be gradually separatedfrom the first horizontal portion 521 a. For this reason, when theshuttles 51 are carried to the first horizontal portion 521 a by thethird feeder 55, the shuttles 51 are disengaged from the pins 555 on thefirst horizontal portion 521 a.

In this embodiment, the first to third feeders 53 to 55 are controlledby the controller 57 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The controller 57controls the second and third feeders 54 and 55 so that the feed rate ofthe second feeder 54 feeding the shuttles 51 is different from thereceiving rate of the third feeder 55 receiving the shuttles 51.

Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the controller 57 controls thesecond and third feeders 54 and 55 so that the moving speed (receivingrate, illustrated in FIG. 11 by a solid line) of the pins 555 moved bythe third feeder 55 is higher than the moving speed (feed rate,illustrated in FIG. 11 by a broken line) of the contact block 548 movedby the second feeder 54. For this reason, when the third feeder 55receives the shuttles 51 from the second feeder 54, the pitch of theshuttles 51 positioned on the second horizontal portion 521 b along theY direction is changed from P₁ into P₂.

Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the tray conveying unit 58 moves the testtray 120 along the X direction by one pitch of the inserts 122 wheneverDUTs 100 are loaded onto all the inserts 122 of the test tray 120, whichare disposed in line along the Y direction, by the device conveying unit50A. Accordingly, the pitch of the DUTs 100 along the X direction ischanged from the pitch of the receiving portions 111 of the customertray 110 into the pitch of the inserts 122 of the test tray 120.

Meanwhile, a plurality of (for example, 512) sockets 201 are mounted onthe test head 2 as described above, but there is also a case where somesockets, which cannot be used due to a breakdown or the like, arepresent among these sockets. In this case, when DUTs 100 are transferredfrom the customer tray 110 to the test tray 120, DUTs 100 do not havebeen loaded onto the inserts 122 of the test tray 120 corresponding tobroken sockets 201 in the past (a so-called DUT-off function).

In this embodiment, the feed rate of the second feeder 55 (illustratedby a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11) intermittently becomes zero (thatis, the second feeder 54 is intermittently stopped) while the receivingrate of the third feeder 54 (illustrated by a dashed-dotted line in FIG.11) is maintained at a predetermined value or more as illustrated by adashed-dotted line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11. Accordingly, theDUT-off function is achieved.

Specifically, when the pin 555 corresponding to the insert 122 ontowhich the DUT 100 is not loaded approaches a receiving position RP (seeFIG. 10) from the second feeder 54, a shuttle 51 is not supplied to thepin 555 by temporarily stopping the motor 544 of the second feeder 54(that is, making the feed rate of the shuttles 51 fed by the secondfeeder 54 temporarily become zero) while the motor 554 of the thirdfeeder 55 is driven. Further, after the pin 555 passes through thereceiving position RP, the second feeder 54 supplies a shuttle 51 to thenext pin 555 by resuming the drive of the motor 544. Meanwhile, when alarge difference in speed is present between the feed rate of the thirdfeeder 55 and the receiving rate of the second feeder 54, the feed rateof the second feeder 54 does not need to completely become zero.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the test tray 120, which receives the DUTs 100from the shuttles 51, is disposed below the third feeder 55. When movinga predetermined number (for example, the same number as the number ofthe inserts 122 of the test tray 120 along the Y direction) of shuttles51 above the inserts 122 of the test tray 120, the third feeder 55 stopsthe motor 554 once.

The latch opener 56A is disposed below the test tray 120. As illustratedin FIG. 12A, the latch opener 56A includes: protrusions 561 that can beinserted into through holes 124 formed in the inserts 122 of the testtray 120; and a support plate 562 that supports the protrusions 561. Thesupport plate 562 can be moved up and down by an air cylinder or thelike. The latch opener 56A transfers DUTs 100 from the shuttles 51 tothe test tray 120.

Specifically, the latch opener 56A approaches the test tray 120 frombelow (FIG. 12B), and inserts the protrusions 561 into the through holes124 of the inserts 122 (FIG. 12C). Next, the latch opener 56A opens thelatches 513 by further moving the protrusions 561 up to press thecontact portions 513 c of the latches 513 of the shuttles 51 (FIG. 12D).Accordingly, when the DUTs 100 held by the second holding portions 513 bof the latches 513 are transferred from the device receiving holes 512of the shuttles 51 into the recesses 123 of the inserts 122, the latchopener 56A is separated from the test tray 120 (FIG. 12E).

The shuttles 51, from which the DUTs 100 have been transferred and whichbecome empty, are conveyed to the first horizontal portion 521 a of thefirst guide rail 521 by the third feeder 55. Meanwhile, the test tray120 to which the DUTs 100 are transferred by the device conveying unit50A is conveyed to the heat applying section 60.

<Heat Applying Section 60>

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the heat applying section 60 appliespredetermined thermal stress to the DUTs 100 loaded onto the test tray120 while moving the test tray 120, which is supplied from the loadersection 30, up by a vertical conveying unit (not shown).

Since the test tray 120 is conveyed upward in the heat applying section60 as described above in this embodiment, it is possible to make theheight of the heat applying section 60 be the same as the height of thetest section 70. Accordingly, since the heat applying section 60 hardlyinterferes with the test head 2 disposed on the handler 10, it ispossible to increase a degree of freedom in the size of the test head 2.

Further, generally, sensors, which detect the abnormalities of the testtray, are installed immediately before the test section in the heatapplying section. In contrast to this, since the test tray 120 isconveyed upward in the heat applying section 60 in this embodiment, itis possible to approach the test tray 120, immediately before the testtray 120 is supplied to the test section 70, from above, so that it ispossible to easily eliminate the jamming of the test tray 120.Accordingly, the heat applying section is excellent even in maintenance.

In the heat applying section 60, a block for temperature control comesinto contact with each of the DUTs 100 loaded onto the test tray 120 toheat or cool the DUT 100, so that the temperature of the DUT 100 iscontrolled.

Flow passages to which a warming medium and a refrigerant are suppliedare formed in the block. Accordingly, the temperature of the block iscontrolled by the adjustment of the flow rate of each of the warmingmedium and the refrigerant. Specifically, a temperature controllerdisclosed in, for example, International Publication No. WO2009/017495,International Publication No. WO2010/137137, or the like may beemployed.

Meanwhile, a chamber system in the related art may be used instead ofthe temperature controller using the above-mentioned fluids. In thiscase, the entire heat applying section 60 is received in a thermostaticchamber and the atmosphere in the thermostatic chamber is set to hightemperature by using a heater or the like, so that the DUTs 100 areheated. Meanwhile, when the DUTs 100 are to be cooled, the atmosphere inthe thermostatic chamber is set to low temperature by using liquidnitrogen or the like.

When predetermined thermal stress is applied to the DUTs 100 in the heatapplying section 60, the test tray 120 onto which the DUTs 100 areloaded is conveyed to the test section 70. Meanwhile, while beingarranged side by side as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 in thisembodiment, two test trays 120 are conveyed from the heat applyingsection 60 to the test section 70.

<Test Section 70>

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the testsection of the handler and an upper portion of the test head in thisembodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, the sockets 201 of the test head2 face the inside of the test section 70 of the handler 10 through theopening 11 from above as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. A Z-drive unit 71is disposed in the test section 70 so as to face the sockets 201 of thetest head 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, a plurality of pushers 73 are mounted on atop plate 72 of the Z-drive unit 71 and the pushers 73 are arrayed in amatrix on the top plate 72 so as to correspond to the sockets 201 of thetest head 2. When the Z-drive unit 71 moves the top plate 72 up, thepushers 73 press the DUTs 100 against the sockets 201 and make theterminals 101 of the DUTs 100 come into electrical contact with thecontact pins 202 of the sockets 201. Meanwhile, since the pusher 73 isalso provided with the temperature controller using the above-mentionedfluid, the pusher 73 can control the temperature of the DUTs 100 duringthe test.

In this embodiment, the sockets 201 of the test head 2 are provided withalignment plates 203 as illustrated in FIG. 13. A plurality of throughholes 204 are formed in the alignment plates 203 so as to correspond tothe contact pins 202 of the sockets 201. When the DUTs 100 approach thesockets 201 by the Z-drive unit 71, the terminals 101 of the DUTs 100are inserted into the through holes 204 of the alignment plates 203.Then, the terminals 101 are guided by the through holes 204, so that theDUTs 100 are positioned relative to the sockets 201.

Meanwhile, the inserts 122 are held by a frame 121 of the test tray 120while floating in the XY plane direction. Accordingly, guide pins 205erected on the peripheral portion of the sockets 201 are inserted intothe through holes 124 of the inserts 122, so that the inserts 122 arepositioned relative to the sockets 201.

Since DUTs are positioned relative to the sockets with insertsinterposed therebetween in the handler in the related art, a loadersection is provided with a preciser. When DUTs are transferred from thecustomer tray to the test tray, the DUTs are placed on the preciseronce, so that the DUTs are accurately positioned relative to theinserts.

In contrast to this, the DUTs 100 are directly positioned relative tothe sockets 201 by the alignment plates 203 mounted on the sockets 201as described above in this embodiment. Accordingly, the loader section30 does not require a preciser, so that it is possible to effectivelyuse a space in the handler 10.

Further, when DUTs are positioned relative to the sockets with theinserts interposed therebetween as in the related art, all inserts ofall test trays, which circulate in the handler, need to be provided withpositioning mechanisms (for example, guide cores or the like). However,since the sockets 201 of the test head 2 only have to be provided withthe alignment plates 203 in this embodiment, it is possible tosignificantly reduce costs.

In this embodiment, in the test section 70, a plurality of (for example,512) DUTs 100 loaded onto two test trays 120 are simultaneously tested,and the two test trays 120 onto which the DUTs 100 are loaded areconveyed to the heat removing section 80 when the test is completed.

<Heat Removing Section 80>

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the heat removing section 80 removesthermal stress, which has been applied to the DUTs by the heat applyingsection 60, from the DUTs 100 loaded onto the test tray 120 which arecarried from the test section 70 while moving the test trays 120 up bythe vertical conveying unit (not shown).

Meanwhile, like the above-mentioned heat applying section 60, the heightof the heat removing section 80 may be the same as the height of thetest section 70 by moving the test trays 120, which are carried from thetest section 70, down by the vertical conveying unit in the heatremoving section 80. However, the heat removing section 80 moves thetest trays 120 up, so that the test trays 120 can be conveyed from thetest section 7 to the heat removing section 800 by a belt conveyingunit. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the costs of the handler 10.

When the heat applying section 60 has applied high-temperature thermalstress to the DUTs 100, the heat removing section 80 blows air to theDUTs 100 by using a fan or the like to cool the DUTs 100 so that theDUTs 100 return to a room temperature. In contrast to this, if the heatapplying section 60 has applied low-temperature thermal stress to theDUTs 100, the heat removing section 80 blows hot air to the DUTs 100 orheats the DUTs 100 by a heater so that the DUTs 100 return to atemperature where dew condensation does not occur.

When thermal stress is removed from the DUTs 100 in the heat removingsection 80, the test trays 120 onto which the DUTs 100 are loaded areconveyed to the unloader section 90 one by one.

<Unloader Section 90>

FIGS. 14A to 14F are illustrating a transfer operation for transferringa DUT from the test tray to the shuttle in this embodiment, and FIGS.15A to 15E are illustrating a transfer operation for transferring a DUTfrom the shuttle to the customer tray in this embodiment.

Since the unloader section 90 includes two device conveying units 50Band 50B as illustrated in FIG. 1, the unloader section 90 can transferDUTs 100 from one or two test trays 120 to the customer trays 110.

The device conveying unit 50B of the unloader section 90 is the same asthe device conveying unit 50A of the above-mentioned loader section 30except for the structure of a latch opener 56B.

As illustrated in FIG. 14A, the latch opener 56B of the unloader section90 includes a push-up unit 564 that pushes the DUTs 100 up and a throughhole 563 through which the push-up unit 564 can pass is formed in thesupport plate 562. The push-up unit 564 can be moved up and down by anair cylinder or the like independently of the support plate 562.

The unloader section 90 transfers the DUTs 100 from the test tray 120 tothe shuttle 51 of the device conveying unit 50B by using the latchopener 56B. The latch opener 56B of this embodiment is equivalent to anexample of first transfer unit of the present invention.

Specifically, the latch opener 56B opens the latches 513 by approachingthe test tray 120 from below (FIG. 14B), moving the support plate 562and the push-up unit 564 up, inserting the protrusions 561 into thethrough holes 124 of the inserts 122 (FIG. 14C), and pressing thecontact portions 513 c of the shuttles 51 by the protrusions 561 (FIG.14D). Next, only the push-up unit 564 moves up and positions the DUTs100 between the opened latches 513 (FIG. 14E). Next, the push-up unit564 moves down and separates from the DUT 100 (FIG. 14F) after only thesupport plate 562 moves down, closes the latches 513, and the DUTs 100are held on the second holding portions 513 b of the latches 513.

Meanwhile, after the DUTs 100 are transferred to the shuttles 51 fromall the inserts 122 of the test tray 120 that are disposed in line alongthe Y direction, the tray conveying unit 58 moves the test tray 120along the X direction by one pitch of the inserts 122. Further, afterthe DUTs 100 are carried out of all the inserts 122 disposed on the testtray 120, the empty test tray 120 is returned to the loader section 30by the tray conveying unit 58. Meanwhile, for example, a belt conveyor,a rotary roller, or the like may be exemplified as a specific example ofthe tray conveying unit 58.

After the DUTs 100 are transferred to the shuttles 51 by the latchopener 56B, the device conveying unit 50B moves the shuttles 51 to thevicinity of the customer tray 110 by the third feeder 55 and the firstfeeder 53. At this time, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 10, when theshuttles 51 are conveyed to the first horizontal portion 521 a of thefirst guide rail 521 by the third feeder 55, the shuttles 51 areseparated from the pins 555 of the third feeder 55 and the pitch of theshuttles 51 becomes free.

Meanwhile, since the DUTs 100 corresponding to the same result of thetest are irregularly disposed in the test tray 120, a pick-and-placeunit in the related art individually lifts up the DUTs 100, whichcorrespond to the same result of the test, from the test tray 120.

In contrast to this, the device conveying unit 50B of the unloadersection 90 makes the feed rate of the second feeder 54 intermittentlybecome zero while maintaining the receiving rate of the third feeder 55at a predetermined value or more in the same manner as theabove-mentioned DUT-off function in this embodiment. Accordingly, thedevice conveying unit 50B conveys the shuttle 51 from the second feeder54 to the third feeder 55 so that the shuttles 51 are supplied to onlythe DUTs 100 that correspond to the same result of the test on the testtray 120. Therefore, since the DUTs 100 are received in all the shuttles51 that are conveyed to the first horizontal portion 521 a by the thirdfeeder 55, it is possible to improve the efficiency of an operation forclassifying the DUTs in the unloader section 90.

Further, when the first feeder 53 loads the shuttles 51 onto the firsthorizontal portion 521 a up to the stopper 539, as illustrated in FIG.15A, the DUTs 100 are transferred from the shuttles 51 of the deviceconveying unit 50B to the customer tray 110 by the above-mentionedsecond and third movable heads 45 and 47 of the device conveying unit40. The second and third movable heads 45 and 47 of this embodiment areequivalent to an example of second transfer unit of the invention, andthe second and third movable heads 45 and 47 of the device transfer unit40 and the device conveying unit 50B of this embodiment are equivalentto an example of a second electronic device transfer apparatus of theinvention.

Specifically, the second movable head 45 will be described as anexample. First, the second movable head 45 opens the latches 513 bymoving only the latch opener 452 down and pressing the contact portions513 c of the latches 513 of the shuttle 51 by protrusions 453 (FIG.15B). At this time, the first holding portions 513 a of the latches 513push the DUT 100 up. Next, only the suction heads 451 moves down, theDUTs 100 are held by suction (FIG. 15C), and the suction heads 451 movesup. After that, the second movable head 45 moves the latch opener 452 up(FIG. 15D). Next, after the second movable head 45 is moved above thecustomer tray 110, the second movable head 45 moves the suction heads451 down and places the DUTs 100 in the receiving portions 111 of thecustomer tray 110 (FIG. 15E).

In the transfer of the DUTs 100 in this unloader section 90, varioustest results are allocated to the six tested tray stockers 22 of thestorage section 20, respectively, and the second and third movable heads45 and 47 transfer the DUTs 100 to the customer trays 110 correspondingto the test results of the DUTs 100. As a result, the DUTs 100 areclassified on the basis of the test results.

After the DUTs 100 are carried out of all the shuttles 51 that arecharged between the stopper 539 and the contact block 538 in the deviceconveying unit 50B, the first feeder 53 moves all the shuttles 51 in alump by pushing the rearmost shuttle 51 through the next empty shuttle51. The shuttles 51, which are pushed to the first inverted portion 521c by the first feeder 53, are moved from the first inverted portion 521c to the second horizontal portion 521 b by their own weight.

As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to sequentiallyconvey the DUTs 100 by revolving a plurality of shuttles 51 on theendless first guide rail 521 when the DUTs 100 are transferred betweenthe customer tray 110 and the test tray 120. Accordingly, it is possibleto improve the capacity of transferring the DUTs 100 between the trays110 and 120.

In contrast to this, when DUTs are transferred between trays by thepick-and-place unit in the related art, while a head of thepick-and-place unit returns to one tray to pick up a DUT, the other traywaits. Accordingly, the improvement of the capacity of transferring theDUTs is limited.

Further, in this embodiment, the first guide rail 521 includes theinverted portions 521 c and 521 d that are turned back in the verticaldirection. Accordingly, it is possible to invert the DUT 100 at the sametime with the operation for transferring the DUT 100 between the trays110 and 120. For this reason, it is possible to simplify the structureof the electronic device testing apparatus 1 where the test head 2 isdisposed above the handler 10. Meanwhile, since the test head 2 isdisposed above the handler 10, it is possible to increase a degree offreedom in the size of the test head 2.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pitch of the DUTs 100 is changedfrom P₁ into P₂ when the third feeder 55 receives the shuttles 51 fromthe second feeder 54 in the loader section 30 or the unloader section90. Accordingly, even though a shuttle revolving system is employed inthe transfer of the DUTs 100 between the trays 110 and 120, it ispossible to change the pitch of the DUTs 100 at the same time with thetransfer of the DUTs 100.

Meanwhile, the above-mentioned embodiment is described for the easyunderstanding of the invention, and does not limit the invention.Accordingly, the respective elements disclosed in the above-mentionedembodiment also include all design changes or equivalents within thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pitch changing apparatus which changes a pitchof electronic devices to be tested, the pitch changing apparatuscomprising: a plurality of holding units which hold the electronicdevices; a track which guides the plurality of holding units; a firstmoving unit which feeds the holding units along the track at a firstpitch; a second moving unit which includes a plurality of receivingportions and moves the receiving portions along the track at a secondpitch, the receiving portions which receive the holding units from thefirst moving unit; and a control unit which controls a feed rate of thefirst moving unit and a receiving rate of the second moving unit.
 2. Thepitch changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an intervalbetween the plurality of holding units is variable on the track.
 3. Thepitch changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitmakes the feed rate of the first moving unit and the receiving rate ofthe second moving unit be different from each other so as to change apitch of the holding units.
 4. The pitch changing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the control unit intermittently stops the first movingunit while moves receiving portions by the second moving unit so thatthe holding units do not convey to at least one among the receivingportions.
 5. The pitch changing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe first moving unit moves the rearmost holding unit while making theplurality of holding units come into contact with each other so as topush the foremost holding unit toward the second moving unit.
 6. Thepitch changing apparatus e according to claim 1, wherein the secondmoving unit includes: an endless belt on which the plurality ofreceiving portions are mounted at the second pitch and which is providedin parallel with the track; at least two pulleys on which the belt isstretched in the shape of a loop; and a motor which rotationally drivesone of the pulleys.
 7. The pitch changing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the first pitch is substantially the same as a pitch ofholding portions of a customer tray, and the second pitch issubstantially the same as a pitch of inserts of a test tray.
 8. Thepitch changing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: afirst transfer unit which transfers the electronic devices from a firsttray to the holding units with an attitude where terminals of theelectronic devices are directed downward or upward; and a secondtransfer unit which transfers the electronic devices from the holdingunits to a second tray with an attitude where the terminals are directedupward or downward.
 9. An electronic device handling apparatus whichloads electronic devices to be tested onto a test tray, conveys theelectronic devices, and presses the electronic devices against a contactportion of a test head in order to test the electronic devices, theelectronic device handling apparatus comprising: at least one of a firstpitch changing apparatus according to claim 1 and a second pitchchanging apparatus according to claim 1, the first pitch changingapparatus which transfers untested electronic devices from a customertray to the test tray, and the second pitch changing apparatus whichtransfers tested electronic devices from the test tray to the customertray.
 10. An electronic device testing apparatus which tests electronicdevices, the electronic device testing apparatus comprising: a testhead; the electronic device handling apparatus according to claim 9which presses the electronic devices against a contact portion of thetest head; and a tester which is electrically connected to the testhead.